Why Are People Here?

On 7/8/2019 5:14 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 4:55:31 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/8/2019 4:21 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 4:02:47 PM UTC-4, duane wrote:
On 08/07/2019 1:32 p.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 7:27:54 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/8/2019 12:30 AM, jbeattie wrote:
I was particularly fond of my son's company issued beta head unit that showed 8,000 meters of elevation gain when you turned it on -- it spotted him 8,000 feet, which I thought was awesome. Free climbing. He was also supposed to beta test smart glasses with video display, but he passed.

I'm amazed at the data-head cycling contingent. I have no idea how many
meters elevation gain I've ever done. Heck, I don't usually click to see
my average speed - partly because it's too embarrassing.

Many decades ago on our first trip to England, we were staying at a
hostel somewhere in Devon. Another guy and his son bragged that they had
ridden 100 miles to get there that day.

When I later related that to another guy in the hostel, he said in a
dismissive tone, "Oh, he's just doing it for the numbers."

I don't even have an odometer/speedometer, but I'll probably get one or download Strava and have my phone do it. I do like to know how far I've gone and the elevation, although its not that important.

I no longer criticize the data-driven. First, people can do what they want to do (being data OCD is harmless), and second, for those who are training -- bicycling, weight lifting, what-have-you -- the studied seem to make huge improvements. I'm not training for anything except riding with my son in Utah. Data is not that important to me, and knowing my power would be downright depressing.

-- Jay Beattie.


You find motivation where it works for you. I like keeping track of my
performance. I'm not obsessive about it but it helps keep me motivated
to push.

I just bought a Cateye wireless bicycle computer. When I'm touring or riding long distances exploring, I find it nice to know how far I've gone and my average speed so that I know when to turn back for home. I just got the basic 8-functions one. I don't need to know temperature and a lot of the other stuff on the more expensive units.

My touring bike has an Avocet 35. Maybe 7 functions? I look at a few of
them - the speed and sometimes average speed. I'll check trip miles at
the end of a ride, and occasionally during one.

Since I still use paper maps, the trip odometer is occasionally handy
during a ride for navigating - as in "I have to turn left after 3/4 mile."


--
- Frank Krygowski

I loved the old Cateye Solar bicycle computer because you could set an alarm for a certain distance. That made finding roads and trails quite easy even if they were pretty overgrown.

Interesting! Sort of like a countdown timer, but counting distance
instead of time? I can see how that could be useful.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On 7/8/2019 6:53 PM, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 8 Jul 2019 10:27:51 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 7/8/2019 12:30 AM, jbeattie wrote:
I was particularly fond of my son's company issued beta head unit that showed 8,000 meters of elevation gain when you turned it on -- it spotted him 8,000 feet, which I thought was awesome. Free climbing. He was also supposed to beta test smart glasses with video display, but he passed.

I'm amazed at the data-head cycling contingent. I have no idea how many
meters elevation gain I've ever done. Heck, I don't usually click to see
my average speed - partly because it's too embarrassing.

Many decades ago on our first trip to England, we were staying at a
hostel somewhere in Devon. Another guy and his son bragged that they had
ridden 100 miles to get there that day.

When I later related that to another guy in the hostel, he said in a
dismissive tone, "Oh, he's just doing it for the numbers."

But did he post the details on the Internet so everyone would know
what a wonderful and athletic person he was? And that he has a $4,000
bicycle?

I'm sure he didn't post it, since this was in 1976. He might have
thumb-tacked it to the hostel's bulletin board! ;-)




--
- Frank Krygowski

On Mon, 8 Jul 2019 16:01:04 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 3:54:00 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 8 Jul 2019 10:27:51 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 7/8/2019 12:30 AM, jbeattie wrote:
I was particularly fond of my son's company issued beta head unit that showed 8,000 meters of elevation gain when you turned it on -- it spotted him 8,000 feet, which I thought was awesome. Free climbing. He was also supposed to beta test smart glasses with video display, but he passed.

I'm amazed at the data-head cycling contingent. I have no idea how many
meters elevation gain I've ever done. Heck, I don't usually click to see
my average speed - partly because it's too embarrassing.

Many decades ago on our first trip to England, we were staying at a
hostel somewhere in Devon. Another guy and his son bragged that they had
ridden 100 miles to get there that day.

When I later related that to another guy in the hostel, he said in a
dismissive tone, "Oh, he's just doing it for the numbers."

But did he post the details on the Internet so everyone would know
what a wonderful and athletic person he was? And that he has a $4,000
bicycle?
--
cheers,

John B.

My, the tears flow so often and heavily from your eyes when you come to discover that someone was a great deal more successful than you and even with memory deficits can remember numbers better than you.

:-) Tom I own two homes, outright, no mortgage, and you own a $4,000
bicycle. Tell us again about success.
--
cheers,

John B.

On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 1:55:31 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/8/2019 4:21 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 4:02:47 PM UTC-4, duane wrote:
On 08/07/2019 1:32 p.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 7:27:54 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/8/2019 12:30 AM, jbeattie wrote:
I was particularly fond of my son's company issued beta head unit that showed 8,000 meters of elevation gain when you turned it on -- it spotted him 8,000 feet, which I thought was awesome. Free climbing. He was also supposed to beta test smart glasses with video display, but he passed.

I'm amazed at the data-head cycling contingent. I have no idea how many
meters elevation gain I've ever done. Heck, I don't usually click to see
my average speed - partly because it's too embarrassing.

Many decades ago on our first trip to England, we were staying at a
hostel somewhere in Devon. Another guy and his son bragged that they had
ridden 100 miles to get there that day.

When I later related that to another guy in the hostel, he said in a
dismissive tone, "Oh, he's just doing it for the numbers."

I don't even have an odometer/speedometer, but I'll probably get one or download Strava and have my phone do it. I do like to know how far I've gone and the elevation, although its not that important.

I no longer criticize the data-driven. First, people can do what they want to do (being data OCD is harmless), and second, for those who are training -- bicycling, weight lifting, what-have-you -- the studied seem to make huge improvements. I'm not training for anything except riding with my son in Utah. Data is not that important to me, and knowing my power would be downright depressing.

-- Jay Beattie.


You find motivation where it works for you. I like keeping track of my
performance. I'm not obsessive about it but it helps keep me motivated
to push.

I just bought a Cateye wireless bicycle computer. When I'm touring or riding long distances exploring, I find it nice to know how far I've gone and my average speed so that I know when to turn back for home. I just got the basic 8-functions one. I don't need to know temperature and a lot of the other stuff on the more expensive units.

My touring bike has an Avocet 35. Maybe 7 functions? I look at a few of
them - the speed and sometimes average speed. I'll check trip miles at
the end of a ride, and occasionally during one.

Since I still use paper maps, the trip odometer is occasionally handy
during a ride for navigating - as in "I have to turn left after 3/4 mile."

I like my iPhone for maps, although the small screen and lighting issues can make it frustrating, OTOH, a paper map often doesn't have the detail unless you take section maps. I also like taking pictures now, because sometimes you encounter things nobody would believe without a picture. Like an empty bike bridge. https://www.flickr.com/photos/127780...3/48224598087/

In fact, you can use your phone as a head unit if you buy a sensor and download the right aps.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 9:03:51 PM UTC-4, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 1:55:31 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/8/2019 4:21 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 4:02:47 PM UTC-4, duane wrote:
On 08/07/2019 1:32 p.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 7:27:54 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/8/2019 12:30 AM, jbeattie wrote:
I was particularly fond of my son's company issued beta head unit that showed 8,000 meters of elevation gain when you turned it on -- it spotted him 8,000 feet, which I thought was awesome. Free climbing. He was also supposed to beta test smart glasses with video display, but he passed..

I'm amazed at the data-head cycling contingent. I have no idea how many
meters elevation gain I've ever done. Heck, I don't usually click to see
my average speed - partly because it's too embarrassing.

Many decades ago on our first trip to England, we were staying at a
hostel somewhere in Devon. Another guy and his son bragged that they had
ridden 100 miles to get there that day.

When I later related that to another guy in the hostel, he said in a
dismissive tone, "Oh, he's just doing it for the numbers."

I don't even have an odometer/speedometer, but I'll probably get one or download Strava and have my phone do it. I do like to know how far I've gone and the elevation, although its not that important.

I no longer criticize the data-driven. First, people can do what they want to do (being data OCD is harmless), and second, for those who are training -- bicycling, weight lifting, what-have-you -- the studied seem to make huge improvements. I'm not training for anything except riding with my son in Utah. Data is not that important to me, and knowing my power would be downright depressing.

-- Jay Beattie.


You find motivation where it works for you. I like keeping track of my
performance. I'm not obsessive about it but it helps keep me motivated
to push.

I just bought a Cateye wireless bicycle computer. When I'm touring or riding long distances exploring, I find it nice to know how far I've gone and my average speed so that I know when to turn back for home. I just got the basic 8-functions one. I don't need to know temperature and a lot of the other stuff on the more expensive units.

My touring bike has an Avocet 35. Maybe 7 functions? I look at a few of
them - the speed and sometimes average speed. I'll check trip miles at
the end of a ride, and occasionally during one.

Since I still use paper maps, the trip odometer is occasionally handy
during a ride for navigating - as in "I have to turn left after 3/4 mile."

I like my iPhone for maps, although the small screen and lighting issues can make it frustrating, OTOH, a paper map often doesn't have the detail unless you take section maps. I also like taking pictures now, because sometimes you encounter things nobody would believe without a picture. Like an empty bike bridge. https://www.flickr.com/photos/127780...3/48224598087/

In fact, you can use your phone as a head unit if you buy a sensor and download the right aps.

-- Jay Beattie.

Or a paper map doesn't show that the bridge over the river has been out for 30+ years. That happened to us one time in Northern Ontario, Canada with so called up to date topographic maps. We road along an old logging road and discovered that there was no bridge over the river although the map showed one there. Fortunately the water wasn't too cold and we were able to swim across with the bikes and then again a couple of times with our gear.

Cheers

On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 8:20:08 PM UTC+2, Frank Krygowski wrote:



I'm not really criticizing the data-driven cyclists. I'm just amazed at
the phenomenon, in much the same way I'm amazed by the couple I know who
weigh their portions at every meal. I think it makes sense if you're a
racer, to help your training. I'm just amazed that non-racers get that
data hungry.


Define a racer or a non racer. Why are you so amazed and telling us that again and again followed by another more or less silly story or habit about yourselve or one of your friends/riding buddies.

At the end of my annual week in the real mountains I participated again in the 'Maratona dles Dolomiti' an event with over 9000 participants. All with their own motivation. Some of them just want to finish, most of them want to do 'well' or even win in their class. Even the people who just want to enjoy the stunning scenery prepared themselves in one way or the other using some kind of data (heartrate, progress in average speed, power) to keep track of their progress in their preparation. Everyone, even the ones who took the whole day to finish the shortest distance and just enjoyed the scenery or the company of the fellow cyclist from all over the world will look at the ranking provided by the organisation:

https://services.datasport.com/2019/velo/maradolo/

Some of them just laugh and make fun of themselves, some of the will be happy to see that they done well and some will be disapointed and find a motivation to do better next year. All good and we all have a beer or a pasta afterwards.

Yet here we are stuck with Frank telling us he is amazed, dont understand our motivation to use data and telling us again and again that the improvement in performance using more advanced equipment is irrelevent, non detectable or silly to use for non racers.
You told us you did some races and time trials in the past, but you are to old for that now or to slow, but please stop make snotty remarks about people that didn't gave up on that yet. It makes you a nicer/less annoying person on the web.

Lou

On Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at 2:03:51 AM UTC+1, jbeattie wrote:

I like my iPhone for maps, although the small screen and lighting issues can make it frustrating,

Polar Beat, the app I use with Polar's H7 heart rate monitor belt and sender, uses the iPhone to you speak to you every kilometer or mile to tell you how fast you covered it and what your average heartrate was. There's much more you can do with it, but I find that enough since I ride on familiar roads and the motor setting (there are nine of which use five) fills in the tops of the hills so I'm not likely instantly to drive my heart up to 120% or something equally lethal. On the bike I use the smallest iPhone, the 4S, long since obsolete, but worth hunting up as NOS, or you can buy the later copy, slightly bigger, that Apple launched a few years back. Since you can't read the screen anyway, it doesn't matter that it is small; indeed, it is an advantage. It is carved from solid ali, and mine looks brand-new despite nearly a decade of abuse, because it is now on its third new leather and D30 (a military plastic used to put between the side plates of tanks -- it hardens in a millisecond on any impact) cover. I was thinking the other day of buying one NOS because the plastic ones would just cost a lot of money meanwhile, but discovered that what is sold as new old stock on the net is instead reconditioned, and I don't fancy someone else's germs.

Andre Jute
Calmly, but at flank speed

On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 11:54:00 PM UTC+1, John B. wrote:

But did he post the details on the Internet so everyone would know
what a wonderful and athletic person he was? And that he has a $4,000
bicycle?
--
cheers,

John B.

Jesus wept. Can't you just once keep your teenage spite to yourself, Slow Johnny?

Andre Jute
Bored ****less

On Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at 1:35:26 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 8:20:08 PM UTC+2, Frank Krygowski wrote:



I'm not really criticizing the data-driven cyclists. I'm just amazed at
the phenomenon, in much the same way I'm amazed by the couple I know who
weigh their portions at every meal. I think it makes sense if you're a
racer, to help your training. I'm just amazed that non-racers get that
data hungry.


Define a racer or a non racer. Why are you so amazed and telling us that again and again followed by another more or less silly story or habit about yourselve or one of your friends/riding buddies.

At the end of my annual week in the real mountains I participated again in the 'Maratona dles Dolomiti' an event with over 9000 participants. All with their own motivation. Some of them just want to finish, most of them want to do 'well' or even win in their class. Even the people who just want to enjoy the stunning scenery prepared themselves in one way or the other using some kind of data (heartrate, progress in average speed, power) to keep track of their progress in their preparation. Everyone, even the ones who took the whole day to finish the shortest distance and just enjoyed the scenery or the company of the fellow cyclist from all over the world will look at the ranking provided by the organisation:

https://services.datasport.com/2019/velo/maradolo/

Some of them just laugh and make fun of themselves, some of the will be happy to see that they done well and some will be disapointed and find a motivation to do better next year. All good and we all have a beer or a pasta afterwards.

Yet here we are stuck with Frank telling us he is amazed, dont understand our motivation to use data and telling us again and again that the improvement in performance using more advanced equipment is irrelevent, non detectable or silly to use for non racers.
You told us you did some races and time trials in the past, but you are to old for that now or to slow, but please stop make snotty remarks about people that didn't gave up on that yet. It makes you a nicer/less annoying person on the web.

Lou

Speaking of data on bicycle computers or data relating to bicycling that some people would like to have. One piece of data that I like to have when out riding hard is heart rate. I don't want to overdo it and have either a stroke or heart attack far from home. Therefore I bought myself a heart rate monitor. Which reminds me I need to get a new battery for the display part of it.

Oh, and to answer Tom's question as to why people come here. It's primarily to gain and to share bicycling related things. Sometimes we give hints or step by step instructions as I did with my seatpost headset cup removal tool and my threadless stem and handle conversion to allow a handlebar bag to be fastened to that unit attached to a seatpost so the bag is behind the rider where even heavily loaded it doesn't affect steering.

Cheers

On 09/07/2019 1:35 a.m., wrote:
On Monday, July 8, 2019 at 8:20:08 PM UTC+2, Frank Krygowski wrote:



I'm not really criticizing the data-driven cyclists. I'm just amazed at
the phenomenon, in much the same way I'm amazed by the couple I know who
weigh their portions at every meal. I think it makes sense if you're a
racer, to help your training. I'm just amazed that non-racers get that
data hungry.


Define a racer or a non racer. Why are you so amazed and telling us that again and again followed by another more or less silly story or habit about yourselve or one of your friends/riding buddies.

At the end of my annual week in the real mountains I participated again in the 'Maratona dles Dolomiti' an event with over 9000 participants. All with their own motivation. Some of them just want to finish, most of them want to do 'well' or even win in their class. Even the people who just want to enjoy the stunning scenery prepared themselves in one way or the other using some kind of data (heartrate, progress in average speed, power) to keep track of their progress in their preparation. Everyone, even the ones who took the whole day to finish the shortest distance and just enjoyed the scenery or the company of the fellow cyclist from all over the world will look at the ranking provided by the organisation:

https://services.datasport.com/2019/velo/maradolo/

Some of them just laugh and make fun of themselves, some of the will be happy to see that they done well and some will be disapointed and find a motivation to do better next year. All good and we all have a beer or a pasta afterwards.

Yet here we are stuck with Frank telling us he is amazed, dont understand our motivation to use data and telling us again and again that the improvement in performance using more advanced equipment is irrelevent, non detectable or silly to use for non racers.
You told us you did some races and time trials in the past, but you are to old for that now or to slow, but please stop make snotty remarks about people that didn't gave up on that yet. It makes you a nicer/less annoying person on the web.

Lou


+1